Reducing tourism's threats to biodiversity: effects of a voluntary sustainability standard and training program on 106 Latin American hotels,lodges and guesthouses

The tourism industry can negatively affect wildlife, plants and natural ecosystems through habitat destruction, pollution, over-exploitation of natural resources and visitor impacts to sensitive ecosystems. One approach to mitigate such threats is the application of voluntary sustainability standards, supported by training of tourism enterprises and verified by external audits. The Rainforest Alliance standard defines 78 criteria (requirements) for sustainable environmental, social and business practices, and has been adopted by over 600 tourism enterprises – including hotels, lodges and tour boats – in 12 countries. We examined the performance of 106 hotels in six Latin American countries against 29 of the sustainable tourism criteria most directly related to biodiversity conservation. Independent audits were used to assess hotel performance at baseline followed by a repeat assessment after training, about two years later. Mean conformance with the 29 biodiversity criteria increased significantly during this interval, from 44% to 58%. Improvements were greatest for businesses in the lowest third of performance at baseline (laggards) and smallest for hotels in the highest third (leaders). The results indicate that a voluntary sustainability standard and training program can serve both to recognize existing good actors and to drive incremental improvement in enterprises that were previously less sustainable.     

Is there a labor shortage?

Business Economics - A panel discusses ongoing and prospective developments in the US labor market. Michael Horrigan points out that job losses in the COVID recession were heavily concentrated...     

The market phenomenon: An alternative theory and some metatheoretical research considerations

Past definitions of the construct “market” are examined and analyzed for explanatory power of the market phenomenon. A counter definition and theory supporting it is forwarded. Additionally, a metatheoretical research paradigm is presented as a framework for future research into theory of the market.     

Literal versus extended symbolic messages and advertising effectiveness: The moderating role of need for cognition

The authors classify an advertisement as an extended symbolic message (ESM) when the ad's subject and message are presented in a nonliteral format. The study compares the advertising effectiveness of the ESM with that of a literally equivalent message (LEM) when the ESM contains either a salient cue (Experiment 1) or subtle cue (Experiment 2) to a nonliteral interpretation. The results indicate that the audience's need for cognition moderates the effectiveness of the ESM. In comparison with an LEM, exposure to the ESM that contained a salient cue resulted in fewer counterarguments and a more favorable attitude toward the ad and brand among high‐NFC subjects in experiment 1. These results were replicated in experiment 2 among high‐NFC subjects who successfully comprehended the non‐literal subject of the ESM that contained a subtle cue. The implications of these results and directions for future research are discussed. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Benefit segmentation in the restaurant industry

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between personal values, demographics, life style, concern for nutrition, eating patterns, restaurant patronage patterns, and required benefits. To accomplish this, consumers were first clustered into four segments based on benefits sought in food preparation and food consumption. Second, univariate ANOVA and discriminant analysis are used to determine the nature of the hypothesized relationships. It was found that benefits are influenced by demographics, personal values, concernfor nutrition, and eating patterns. The data also suggest that required benefits influence restaurant patronage patterns.     

End-User Contribution to Logistics Value Co-Creation: A Series of Exploratory Studies

ABSTRACT

Recently, retailers have been investing in technology-based platforms such as mobile applications to involve more of their customers in logistical value co-creation activities. Therefore, it would be important to guide these efforts by providing the retailers with a list of various consumer logistics value co-creation activities and help them better organize their technological investments by categorizing these functions. The objective of this study is to explore the logistics activities through which the end users can contribute to co-creation of value based on the notions of Service-Dominant Logic. A series of 4 exploratory survey studies revealed 10 end-user logistics functions and important implications for practice.     

Managing the well-being of temporary skilled migrants

The war for talent, whereby skilled workers move between countries, continues to remain a global issue. This paper is informed by the human resource management (HRM) literature on global careers of skilled migrants and their cross-cultural adjustment and well-being. These literatures draw on human capital theory to understand skilled migration. In this paper, a case study of Western Australia's answer to addressing skills shortages by employing skilled migrant workers through temporary skilled migration schemes (employer-sponsored) situates the discussion within the role of HRM. Temporary skilled migrants are vulnerable in that they can experience a number of stressors, including long periods of separation from their loved ones, commencing a new job in an alien environment and resettlement tasks. The paper makes a contribution in utilising Al Ariss and Syed's (2011) model of human capital drawing on social, cultural, economic and symbolic forms of currency for temporary skilled migrants. This group is not homogenous in that they all draw on these aspects of human capital in varying ways. By addressing the gaps, HRM can add value in providing assimilation strategies for temporary migrant workers that supports retention and ensures improved worker well-being.     

Consumer logistics: Conceptualization,pertinent issues and a proposed program for research

This article provides a basic conceptual foundation for a new field of study that considers the decisions and activities of consumers within a logistics framework. Five subsystems in industrial logistics, as suggested by Bowersox (1978), furnish the conceptual underpinnings for this work. The article explores various issues related to a program of study of the field of consumer logistics, and it proposes problems to be investigated, as well as means for their investigation.